Janet Stein
|affiliation= (formerly) |tv series = Runaways (30 episodes) |actor = Ever Carradine Sorel Carradine (young) |status = Deceased (physical body) Active (as a Artificial Intelligence; mind uploaded into Healing Algorithm)}} Janet Stein was an expert on gravitational-wave astronomy, and a member of PRIDE. She was the wife of Victor Stein and the mother of Chase Stein. Due to the abuse she suffered from her husband, Janet started a relationship with fellow PRIDE member Robert Minoru, but kept this relationship a secret to preserve her family. Janet eventually discovered Victor's own secret that he was dying from a brain cancer. Therefore, she decided to end her affair with Minoru to try and help her husband. However, due to Victor falling back into his violent demeanor, Janet was forced to shoot him to protect their son Chase. This caused Janet to be almost forced to sacrifice herself by Jonah to revive Victor. Janet later joined the PRIDE plot meant to kill Jonah as they had figured out that Jonah had fooled them. Janet was determined to make amends for her mistakes, insisting that the well-being of PRIDE's children was paramount. She also discovered that Victor was being kept in a Healing Algorithm and convinced Jonah to let her interact with her husband within the simulation. Janet briefly interacted with the Runaways when called by Gert Yorkes to sign her out of the hospital, and informed them that Jonah was planning a new sacrifice. With Victor's help, Janet was able to decrypt the Abstract given to her by Geoffrey Wilder, and Janet used this knowledge to design an Anti-Gravity Device which proved to be crucial in stopping Jonah's spaceship during the Battle at the PRIDE Construction Site. Afterwards, worried about the weapons PRIDE was developing against the Runaways, Janet convinced Victor that they should persuade Chase to come home peacefully, which eventually worked out. However, Janet's wishes to have a reunited family were endangered as she was later captured by Jonah, who had survived his previous confrontation against PRIDE and the Runaways and possessed the body of her husband. Janet was uploaded into the Healing Algorithm by Jonah along with her son and Karolina Dean so it could be decided by his family which to sacrifice to regenerate their human hosts. Janet, once she found out that the life she was living in the Algorithm was a fake, eventually came into contact with Chase and Karolina, who had also figured out that it wasn’t real. However, while her genius was enough to get the two teenagers out of the Algorithm with the aid of the rest of the Runaways during a raid on Victor's lab, where the tubes the trio’s bodies were kept in were stored, Janet herself was forced to stay inside the simulation if it meant that Chase and Karolina got to leave and escape Jonah. After a tearful goodbye with her son, Janet’s physical body died due to it being disconnected from the system, but her mind survived and became one with the Algorithm. This new circumstance would notably surprise Stacey Yorkes when they met again shortly later, after Jonah’s interdimensional defeat at the hands of Nico Minoru. Now able to infiltrate into various computer systems, Janet notably alerted Nico that several of her teammates needed to be rescued, and was instrumental in weakening Morgan le Fay during the Battle at the Hostel by disrupting the phone network service the Corvus phones relied on. Biography Early Life Meeting Victor Stein at Culver University]] Janet went to Culver University and met Victor Stein in class, the two discussed the idea of time travel as Victor expressed it as time of beauty. Janet became smitten with Victor and the two married and moved to Los Angeles.Runaways: 1.07: Refraction Birth of Chase hold Chase for the first time]] Janet gave birth to Chase Stein in 2001 and watched her husband be given Chase for the first time. Victor briefly spoke with the nurse and returned to Janet. Victor, who was lost of words, stated "he's" before Janet finished with everything. Agreeing, Victor told Janet that he understood what everyone meant when a child is the only thing that matters. Joining PRIDE Janet and Victor joined the organization PRIDE, tooking part to rituals meant to revive Jonah. She expressed horror when she realized that she had contributed to the death of PRIDE's first victim, Brooks Watten.Runaways: 1.06: Metamorphosis Like the other members of PRIDE, Janet attended the funeral held for Gene and Alice Hernandez, who had seemingly been killed in an accident. Janet shared a toast with Catherine Wilder, and told her that at least the Hernandezes' daughter Molly would never have to worry about the money, although Wilder thought that money could sometimes make things worse.Runaways: 1.03: Destiny Victor's Abuse As years passed, Janet's husband, Victor Stein, became abusive as he was focused on his work and was fueled by his ego. Janet and her son Chase suffered from the abuse, as the latter would come to resent him as he got older. Janet would lean to Robert Minoru, a fellow member of PRIDE for comfort, leading to the two to have an affair. Rite of Blood Sacrifice of Destiny Gonzalez Janet went to her son Chase's bedroom to tell him that they were expecting him from breakfast. She later remained silent as her husband Victor chastised Chase for his poor grade at school.Runaways: 1.01: Reunion Janet later joined Chase in his room and tried to convince him that his father had improved his behavior, although Chase remained deaf to this and still insulted his father. As Chase left, Janet received a call from her lover Robert Minoru and told him that she was looking forward to meeting him at the PRIDE meeting scheduled in the evening. Janet then went to Victor's lab, where he was trying to fix the Dematerialization Box and suggested that he could try to call for some help, which angered Victor, although he apologized immediately after, claiming that he was under a lot of pression. Janet then remained in the lab with the mouse Victor had failed to dematerialize.Runaways: 1.02: Rewind. They then left to the Wilder Mansion for the PRIDE meeting. at the PRIDE meeting]] During the meeting, Janet was approached by Minoru, who noticed that she had changed her hair, something Robert had failed to see. Along with the other members of PRIDE, Janet reviewed the file of Destiny Gonzalez, who they were about to sacrifice. She then went to the sacrifice room and took part in the ritual which led to Gonzalez being put in the Dematerialization Box. However, as the ritual ended, they noticed a flash of lightning in the room. Janet remained in the sacrifice chamber while Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder left to investigate. When the Wilders returned, Janet hypothesized that the energy coming from the Dematerialization Box could have caused a power cut in the mansion, explaining the flash that they had seen. Janet then went to meet the children of PRIDE members in the mansion's hall, notably discussing with Molly Hernandez. As everyone left, Janet told Chase that Victor was expecting them in the car and that they had to go as well. Pulling Further The day following the sacrifice of Destiny Gonzalez, Janet found her husband Victor sleeping in his lab. She told him that they were expected for a charity lunch outside and voiced her concerns about Victor, but Victor abruptly rebuffed her, demanding her unconditional support for all he did for their family. They then left for the lunch they had been invited to. Later, Janet left her husband and went to join her lover Robert Minoru in an apartment. After they had sex, Janet asked Minoru who the apartment belonged to and Minoru revealed that he had bought the place and that he was ready to start over his new life with her. Janet asked for more time to think about it, as she was uncomfortable at the idea of giving up on her husband and fearing that her son Chase could be hurt. As it was revealed that Gonzalez had actually survived the sacrifice and that Victor had actually murdered her afterwards, Janet joined an emergency PRIDE meeting at the Wilder Mansion. When Geoffrey Wilder asked Victor why he had not told them about the malfunctions of the Dematerialization Box, Janet replied that she had told him not to as she was convinced that Victor would fix it, although Victor insisted that the Box would not be a problem in the future.Runaways: 1.04: Fifteen Janet later took part to the sacrifice of Andre Compton, who had been brought by Wilder at the Church of Gibborim Executive Office in replacement for Gonzalez. While helping Minoru to carry the Dematerialization Box, Janet put her hand on his, which surprised Minoru and was noticed by Victor. During the sacrifice, Janet exchanged concerned looks with her husband out of fear that the sacrifice could fail again. Nevertheless, the sacrifice functioned and Jonah was revived.Runaways: 1.05: Kingdom The Truth Revealed Janet met with her lover Robert Minoru in his car, and explained that her husband's Victor had been nicer to their son Chase lately. However, Minoru told her that Victor could soon return to a more violent behavior and urged Janet to tell Victor that she was planning on leaving her. Fearing Victor's reaction, Janet was given a gun by Minoru. Unbeknownst to them, however, Victor was spying on their conversation all along. gala]] In the evening, Janet went to the PRIDE gala held at Wizard Headquarters. Much like the other members of PRIDE, Janet enjoyed the party until Victor, when given the opportunity to deliver a speech, publicly revealed the affair between Janet and Minoru, much to the audience's shock. As Victor fainted immediately after, Janet accompanied him in a quiet room with Chase. However, as Victor regained consciousness and assured that he was fine, Chase told him that he could not be fine since he was suffering from a brain tumor, something Janet did not know and was utterly shocked to learn. Janet insisted on helping her husband, but Victor told her to leave, which was seconded by Chase. Janet was later joined in the parking lot, who seemed much better thanks to Jonah's Serum and had seemingly forgiven her. As Chase arrived and asked them if everything was right, Victor hugged them both, much to Janet's surprise. Ending the Affair In the next day, Janet found her husband Victor and her son Chase apparently bonding in the Stein Mansion's garage. As Victor left to take a shower, Janet was told by Chase that Victor planned on attending the Atlas Academy open house, much to her surprise. Janet and Chase then discussed the effects of Jonah's Serum and how it had changed Victor's personality. Since Chase wondered whether it would make it harder for Janet to leave Victor, Janet explained how hard it had been to live with Victor but that she was ready to start over with him if the improvement of his character kept going. Janet and Victor then went to the open house, enjoying the meals served in the Atlas Academy. Janet was approached by Leslie Dean, who wanted to make sure that Janet would settle things down regarding her marriage, although Janet was reluctant to discuss the matter with Dean. Still, Janet told Dean that she would end her relationship with Robert Minoru. Seeing Victor and Minoru apparently having a tense conversation, Janet joined them and told Victor that they had to see Chase's teachers. Janet later had a talk with Minoru, who still thought that they could live their relationship in the open. Although Minoru tried to convince her that Victor would soon fall back into his abusive behavior, Janet refused to listen to him, seeing a second chance to live her life with the man she had married and told Minoru that their relationship was over. Attack on Victor Stein However, back at the Stein Mansion, Robert Minoru's predictions soon came to pass and Janet found her husband Victor violently attacking her son Chase with the Fistigons. Fearing for Chase's life, Janet shot Victor with the gun Minoru had given her earlier. Facing such a disaster with Victor being heavily wounded, Janet sent an emergency message to the other members of PRIDE, urging them to come to the Stein Mansion to help her deal with the situation. Janet was firstly visited by Tina and Robert Minoru, who quickly learned about the situation. They were followed by Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder. Together, the members of PRIDE agreed that Janet should take Chase out of the garage while they would deal with the matter. Janet and Chase thus went to the kitchen and shared a drink to recover from their emotions. As Chase expressed his idea that the brain tumor was actually responsible for Victor's recent outburst, Janet gently answered that it might be. try to save Victor Stein]] Janet later left Chase and returned into the garage where Dale and Stacey Yorkes had arrived. Together, the members of PRIDE tried to save Victor, who fell into a coma, and Dale explained to Janet that it might be a good sign. Leslie Dean arrived immediately after and called her husband Frank so that he could heal Victor with his Healing Gloves. During the process, Janet held Victor's hand and felt it clutching around hers. Although Janet initially believed that Victor could be revived, she soon figured out that something was wrong as Victor's grip began to hurt her. Eventually, Victor was found clinically dead. Jonah later arrived at the Stein Mansion as well and detailed his plan of using the Dematerialization Boxes to revive Victor. However, he also demanded that Janet sacrifice herself for the plan to work. Janet violently refused, blaming Jonah's Serum and arguing that the whole situation was Jonah's fault. Still, she got no support from the other members of PRIDE, with Tina even told Janet that she was useless to PRIDE. This caused Janet to empty her bag of frustration, blaming the other members of PRIDE for having let her deal with the abusive Victor alone. The argument continued as Janet suggested putting Dale into the Box since she deemed it clumsy and useless, although Dale mentioned the Synnergy Serum as a significant accomplishment and told that Janet was the reason they had to sacrifice someone. Despite Robert suggesting to sacrifice Frank, who had left the room, Jonah ordered Jonah to pick quickly, threatening to kill PRIDE and their children if Victor actually died for good. This caused panic in the ranks of PRIDE, to the point of having Dale picking up the gun previously used by Janet and aiming it at his colleagues. Once the situation was defused by Geoffrey, Jonah once again ordered Janet to give her life, explaining that he would sacrifice Chase instead if she did not comply. Therefore, and despite Minoru trying to advise her against it, Janet prepared to get into the Dematerialization Box. Before dying, however, she requested to see her son one last time and say goodbye. Jonah initially refused, and as they debated over the matter, Janet and the others discovered that Robert had taken advantage of everyone else's distraction to get into the Box himself. Ultimately, the sacrifice was rendered impossible because of Tina destroying a Box with the Staff of One in order to save her husband, and Victor's body was taken away by Jonah.Runaways: 1.08: Tsunami Confrontation with the Runaways Janet gave an interview to the press, pretending that her husband Victor Stein had to retire from business to deal with his disease and that he would no longer make public appearances. Returning home, Janet watched her own interview with her son Chase and was disturbed by the tone of her voice. When asked by Chase where Victor was and what Jonah was related to the whole event, Janet told him not to ask questions for his own safety, much to Chase's surprise and made him promise that he would be careful. Janet then went into the Stein Mansion's garage to clean up the blood left by Victor's wounds. She was joined by Chase, who was on his way to a school dance. Janet asked him whether he would be on a date with Karolina Dean, having previously noticed her son's attraction towards her, but Chase replied that he would only go with his friends and expressed his newfound interest for Gert Yorkes before leaving. In the evening, Janet, like all the members of PRIDE, was summoned to the Church of Gibborim Executive Office by Jonah, who revealed that the Runaways knew everything about PRIDE's illegal activities. As a result, Jonah demanded to know whether they knew where their children were, prompting Janet to quickly return to the Stein Mansion. Upon arriving, Janet noticed that Chase had taken the Fistigons, meaning that the school dance was a pretext and that Chase had joined the other Runaways to thwart PRIDE's projects. Janet joined the other members of PRIDE and they went to confront the Runaways at the PRIDE Construction Site. As the teenagers blamed them for their crimes, Janet and the other parents assured them that they loved them and that they only wanted to ensure their children's welfare. However, the Runaways refused to listen to them.Runaways: 1.09: Doomsday Things quickly escalated into a fight and Janet was as surprised as the rest of PRIDE when discovering the Runaways' powers, notably Dean's light emitting abilities and Molly Hernandez's superhuman strength. When Jonah arrived and joined the fight, Janet screamed for Chase to run away, which he did with his friends, leaving only Dean behind who was captured by Jonah.Runaways: 1.10: Hostile PRIDE Rebellion In the next morning, Janet went to the Minoru Mansion and met with the other members of PRIDE, except Leslie Dean. They discussed the events of the night and Janet, having learned that Jonah was the biological father of Karolina Dean, asked whether Molly Hernandez, due to her superhuman strength, could also be related to Jonah, although Stacey Yorkes immediately rejected the idea. Since the Runaways had seemingly understood PRIDE's plan, Janet warned the others that their own actions had put their children in harm's way, which they could not tolerate. PRIDE then discussed about their options. Dale and Stacey Yorkes decided to return to investigate the PRIDE Construction Site. Janet asked how they should deal with their children's disappearance, to which Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder suggested finding Karolina to have some answers regarding their children's whereabouts. ]] Janet later attended another PRIDE meeting in the Yorkes Residence, this time with Leslie attending as well. Leslie, who had discovered that Jonah had lied to her as well, told PRIDE that they had to fight back against Jonah. Janet feared that Jonah could retaliate on Victor Stein as he still had him with him, but Leslie assured her that Jonah needed Victor alive, although she would understand that Janet would pull off the meeting. However, Janet insisted on staying and joined the PRIDE plot to kill Jonah. Personality For years, Janet Stein remained a discreet person, living in the shadow of her brilliant yet abusive husband Victor Stein. She endured all the abuse without really considering to leave him in order to preserve her family and make sure that she could protect their son Chase. Due to her calm and quiet temper, as well as the fact that she had no real job of her own, Janet was often looked upon by other members of PRIDE, notably Tina Minoru, who considered that Janet did not bring anything useful to the organization. Still, Janet had ambitions of her own, craving to do research in gravitational fields, but she was forced to set aside her dreams to let her husband's career blossom out. The main aspect of Janet's personality was her deep sense of family. Despite having an affair with Robert Minoru due to Victor's abuse, she struggled to keep her family together and was very protective of her son Chase. When Victor was temporarily rendered much more friendly due to the use of Jonah's Serum, Janet saw an opportunity to rebuild a real family with him and ended her affair with Robert, glad to see that her husband and her son were finally bonding. Janet deeply cared for Chase, to the point that she did not hesitate to scream him to leave when Jonah arrived at the PRIDE Construction Site to face the Runaways. She also notably shot her husband to save her son. Her protectiveness also extends to the other Runaways, and when PRIDE decided to rebel against Jonah, Janet insisted that their children's welfare was paramount and that they should not get hurt in any way. Despite her discreet and compliant nature, Janet sometimes displayed outbursts of anger and frustration. When ordered to sacrifice herself by Jonah, Janet blatantly criticized the behavior of her fellow PRIDE members and abruptly told Catherine Wilder to shut up. Although she feared for the life of her husband Victor, she also agreed to join the PRIDE plot meant to kill Jonah in revenge for having fooled PRIDE, including Janet. Powers and Abilities Powers Healing Algorithm With her consciousness being uploaded in the Healing Algorithm while her physical body disappeared, Stein became the equivalent of a computer program. *'Computer Interaction': Thanks to her new nature, Stein was able to interact with and infiltrate into various computer systems. She notably hacked into a security camera in the Wizard Headquarters which she could control to determine that some members of PRIDE and the Runaways were in danger and alerted Nico Minoru through a computer in the Hostel. With help from Victor Stein, she was also able to hack into the systems controlling the cell service in Los Angeles and took them down, thus cutting off Morgan le Fay's empowerment through the Corvus phones. Abilities *'Expert Scientist': To be added Equipment Weapons *' ': Given to her by Robert Minoru to defend herself, Janet used the revolver to stop her husband Victor from attacking their son Chase. Other Equipment *'Disruptor': Along with Victor Stein, Janet created and tried a powerful computer virus which was eventually confiscated by the FBI. Facilities *'Stein Mansion': Janet lived in this wealthy residence with her abusive husband Victor and her son Chase. Unlike the other female members of PRIDE, Janet was a housewife and thus spent most of her time in the Stein Mansion. Janet's most important event related to the house occurred when she shot Victor in the garage to stop him from attacking Chase, causing an emergency PRIDE meeting in the garage during which Janet was nearly sacrificed to revive her husband. *'Healing Algorithm': To be added Relationships Family *Step-Father † *Curtis Stein † - Father-in-Law *Victor Stein - Husband *Chase Stein - Son Allies *PRIDE **Leslie Dean **Catherine Wilder † **Geoffrey Wilder **Tina Minoru **Robert Minoru † - Former Lover **Stacey Yorkes **Dale Yorkes **Alice Hernandez † **Gene Hernandez † *Los Angeles Police Department **Flores † **Anthony Wall/AWOL *Runaways - Enemies turned Allies **Alex Wilder **Nico Minoru **Karolina Dean **Gert Yorkes **Molly Hernandez *Xavin *Tyrone Johnson/Cloak *Tandy Bowen/Dagger Enemies *Jonah *Frank Dean *Sacrifice Victims **Brooks Watten † **Adam Cooper † **Jamie Baxter † **Tim Bennett † **Xavier Marquez † **Karly Scolari † **James Braswyck † **Anthony Rocha † **Kim Hwang † **Bridget Bynum † **John Donahue † **Emily Wong † **Yvonne Taylor † **Brian Geparhart † **Destiny Gonzalez † **Andre Compton † *Coven **Morgan le Fay Appearances Trivia *In the comics, Janet was a brilliant scientist along with her husband Victor Stein and a founding member of the Pride. Unlike her TV series counterpart, Janet was also abusive towards her son Chase in the comics. Behind the Scenes *Linda Kessler was a stunt double for Ever Carradine in the role of Janet Stein. References External Links * * Category:Runaways (TV series) Characters Category:Humans Category:Females Category:Blonde Hair Category:Green Eyes Category:Scientists Category:Culver University Students Category:PRIDE Members Category:High Body Count Category:Villains Category:Deceased Characters Category:Artificial Intelligence